Ravenwold
The Ravenwold (Astrallic: Fiagaghfheairse or Fiágírsi, pronounded fʲa:ˈgi:rʃ) is an area in the inland north of the Rockallic viscountcy of An Móir Leautheinn, a forest range interspersed with meadows and valleys between the river Euimm Aibheauirnenneaoigh to the north and east, the river Euimm Leaoranna to the south, and the Ravensknife to the west. The region is characterised by a predominantly rural landscape containing villages built from wood and stone, small glens and moors, and ancient market towns that have managed to stay relatively small and untouched. Though no official boundary of the Ravenwold exists, there is conventionally made a distinction between the Ravenwold as a geographical and the Ravenwold as a political entity. The geographical entity, as described above, is bounded by two rivers and an escarpment, whilst the political entity also covers several villages that lie on the neighbouring Iúibhainneauth Plateau. Etymology The Astrallic name Fiagaghfheairse, Fernolian name Céifrancoed, Rockallian name Fiádhfhareoise, and English name Ravenwold all mean "Raven's Forest" or "Raven's Wood". The "Raven-" can be found in other local names as well, such as Fiaggceairraig (Ravenstone), Fiaggclease (Ravenwound), Fiagbheuall (Ravenwing) and Fiagaghléann (Raven's Spear). In this instance, the name "Raven" does not refer to the species of bird, but to the goddess Raven or Fiag, who, in Rockallic mythology, is associated with war, death, and doom. The Ravenwold has historically been a centre of Raven worship. The suffix "-wold" in English is an Old English word denoting a forested area, and is a direct translation of the -feairse, -coed, and -fareoise in the respective national languages of Rockall. History The Ravenwold has been inhabited at least since the , as evidenced by stone burial chambers located atop the ridges. Excavations under Ravenstone Castle have found further evidence of a fort which once stood at the same location. Culture Language The Ravenwold is one of the few areas of Rockall where the Astrallic language is the most prominent language, spoken by 91% of all inhabitants. The second most common language is Fernolian with 7%, and lastly comes Rockallian at 2%. Road signs are all monolingual. A local dialect is also spoken by around 60% of the population, known as the Ravenwold dialect. The dialect itself can be divided into five general local varieties, namely a Southern Ravenwold dialect, a Northern Ravenwold dialect, an Eastern Ravenwold dialect, a Lower Ravensknife dialect, and an Upper Ravensknife dialect. The village of Anammeairr and inhabitants of the Feuirre Glens speak a Fernolian dialect and are the only two places in the Ravenwold where native Fernolian is spoken. Ravenwold dialect The Ravenwold dialect is a variant of Astrallic with Fernolian influences. As a dialect it deviates quite significantly from Standard Astrallic to the point that an Astrallic speaker will not be able to understand what is being said most of the time. A distinct characteristic of the Ravenwold dialect is that its vocabulary is closer to Fernolian and Rockallian than standard Astrallic is; as such, it is often considered by other Astrallic speakers to be a "posh" dialect, and its derivative accent is thus also considered "posh". An example would be the Ravenwold word for "river": in Standard Fernolian, the word for "river" is euimm, also written as iŵm and pronounced /ju:m/. The three main variations of the Ravenwold dialect word for "river" are óibh (pronounced as either /ou̯/ or /au̯/ depending on the village or town), óibheann (pronounced /ou̯n/, /ou̯ən/, /au̯n/ or /au̯ən) and áibheann (pronounced /a:n/ or /awən/). The associated with these vowel shifts can be seen on the left. In the above example, the word óibh shows a clear relation with the Fernolian word for "river" or "stream", which is the same word spelled the same way. The word áibheann shows a clear relation to the Rockallian word áibhain, meaning "river" as well. The word óibheann can be seen as a mixture of the two. Geography Towns and villages The largest town of the Ravenwold is Áigeaireon or Áigiyriwn (English name: Eight Stones). Other towns and villages are: *Fiaggceairraig-an-gCráinnan or Faciyraig-yn-Grányn (English: Ravenstone-the-Trees) *Fiaggceairraig-an-Gleoinnan or Faciyraig-yn-Gliawnyn (English: Ravenstone-the-Valleys) *Fáiggclease or Fáglasi (English: Ravenwound) *Óinn or Un (English: Riverend) *Euideuibhóille or Ióly (English: Shadowhollow) *Úispóint or Wspynt (English: Last Bridge) *Deoisepóint or Diôsiypónt (English: Southbridge) *Óibhóite or Ó'' (English: Rith) *Aolró or ''Awlró (English: Oakrow) *Áiranansróide or Árnynsródt (English: Bytheway) *Feairseoit or Fiorsiyt (English: Woldhythe) *Deuibheannaghfheoirde or Diwchynyhyrdt (English: Devilsford) *Láic Asáista or Lác Asásty (English: Unhappy Pond). Hills and ridges The highest point of the Ravenwold is Peunearraghbhleaonnaghléann or Piwnyrybhliawnylián (English: Yellowlad Spear). Rivers and lakes Government and politics The Ravenwold lies in the barony of Aoin na Ghúireacheanne in the viscountcy of An Móir Leautheinn in the northwest of the island of Rockall. As a political entity it consists of ten baronetcies, which also have territory that is geographically not in the Ravenwold. These are: *Clease 's Reaimean or Clasi t-ys Rómiyn (Wound and Fields) *Feuirre or Feuirre (Feather) *Láican 's Gléoinnan or Lácyn ys Gliawnyn (Lakes and Glens) *Máirscreuig or Márscrw (Deathbridge) *Meuilenudéo-le'n-gCráinnan or Miwlnydió-lyn-Grányn (Ne'erforgotten-cum-Trees) *Núibhláite or Nŵlási (Theresnone) *Óilfáda-h-ag'an-Sceaorr or Ólfádty-h-án-Sciûr (Longhollow-at-the-Edge) *Óinn or Un (English: Riverend) *Seaoibheainne or Sion (English: Shawn) *Teirreguibhleag or Teirygwlyg (English: Terrible). These nine baronetcies together form the Ravenwold District, a local government area with limited powers within the barony. The Ravenwold is represented in the House of Commons of the Earldom of Rockall by the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Ravenwold and Lawrence. Category:Ravenwold